16 February 2005. Information management company askSam reproduces the text of the 9-11 Commission Report. You can browse it by section or search it by keyword. Search results display with keywords in context. This helpful free resource illustrates the capabilities of askSam's database software. 21 August 2003. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) makes available information about pending legislation on several hot topics, including criminal justice, death penalty, drug policy, free speech and more. Browse the collection by issue or ACLU region. Stay up-to-date with these issues by requesting to receive email updates. 28 June 2007. The Jamail Center for Legal Research at the University of Texas School of Law has compiled a database of wrongful convictions. It provides bibliographic citations (with links) to news and journal articles, books, reports, legislation and Web sites. You may search the database by author, title, keyword or other criteria. You may also browse the database contents by subject; e.g., forensics/DNA evidence, informants, police misconduct, etc. 22 January 2002. Revised 6 May 2005. The Web site of this non-profit advocacy group Web site offers much to interest those conducting research in antitrust law. Find a primer on criminal antitrust, which covers the history of criminal liability, criminal sanctions, amnesty, collateral penalties for antitrust violations, criminal procedure and globalization. It also contains appendices showing actual fines for cases involving corporations and individuals.
You will also find news about antitrust related issues, a directory of government agencies, Congressional contacts, media and organizations interested in antitrust issues, and an extensive guide to Web resources. The guide provides information about antitrust cases in the news, antitrust statutes, court decisions, legislation and more.
26 October 2004. Two Columbia Law School students are tracking developments, opinions and documents relating to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Blakely v. Washington. The Blakely decision deals with the constitutionality of the federal sentencing guidelines. In addition to commentary, you will find links to the court's opinion and several briefs.
26 October 2004. Punch and Jurists, Ltd. offers this compilation of primary legal documents, case law and commentary on the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Blakely v. Washington. The Blakely decision deals with the constitutionality of the federal sentencing guidelines. The compilation includes some information that would be difficult to track down. For example, it reproduces select email from lawyers pertaining to the decision. You will also find documents filed in the case, documents filed in related cases, select appellate cases, published and unpublished commentary, select government documents, an annotated list of Web sites covering Blakely and articles from the press. 6 January 2004. Sponsored by the Samuelson Law, Technology, and Public Policy Clinic at Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley, BriefBank contains a small collection of briefs in the area of law, technology and public policy. Search by party name or court to retrieve brief bibliographic information with links to the full-text of the documents. Search All Courts to retrieve a listing of all the documents in the database. Many documents are available in PDF. 12 May 2003. The Bureau of Justice Statistics collects, analyzes, publishes and disseminates information on crime, criminal offenders, victims of crime, and the operation of justice systems at all levels of government. Its Web site offers statistics on crimes and victims, criminal offenders, drug crimes, trends in homicide, firearms in crime, crime trends, and more. 30 October 2000. Revised 24 March 2003. The Office of Postsecondary Education of the U.S. Department of Education offers this database of crime statistics for colleges and universities in the United States. Search by geographic region, state, city, institution name, type of institution or instructional program, or by number of students enrolled. However, many colleges do not report local crime statistics. This site offers an excellent assortment of commentary, U.S. primary law, statistics, sample briefs, case summaries, and litigation guides on death penalty related topics containing motions, briefs, memoranda, strategies, case summaries, statistics and other trial documents. 25 August 2003. This advocacy Web site provides news and other information about the International Criminal Court (ICC) and its ratification status in countries worldwide. Find an archive of official statements concerning the International Criminal Court, existing and sample legislation implementation legislation, publications, key documents and more. 25 August 2003. A subscription-based weekly legal newsletter, Corporate Crime Reporter reports on lawsuits, agency actions and other events pertaining to corporate crime. Find a list of the top 100 corporations charged with crimes, hot documents (e.g., Martha Stewart indictment), interviews with white collar crime defense lawyers and others, news and more. Much of the information appearing on the Web site is free. 19 November 2007. The non-profit organization, Criminal Justice Journalists, makes available this extensive online guide on crime reporting. Chapters cover the crime beat, juvenile justice, drug law enforcement, racial and ethnic issues, crime victims, journalism ethics, covering the courts, how prosecutors work, gun control and domestic violence.
Author credentials are provided for each chapter. Some chapters provide sidebars. All chapters offer an annotated list of additional sources.
You can search the online content or opt to display it from a pull-down menu of pre-set topics. You can also browse each chapter. There does not appear to be a way to download the e-book or its individual chapters. 12 October 2004. Subtitled the Criminology Library [of] Grey Literature, this database provides keyword search access to publications, unpublished papers, working papers and research reports housed in the University of Toronto's Centre of Criminology Library. Topics covered include criminal justice, penology and corrections, juvenile delinquency/young offenders, policing and law enforcement, and private policing. The database provides bibliographic information, including, author, title, year of publication, number of pages, type of document and more. 2 November 2005. The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) makes available information from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). The data for the survey comes "from a nationally representative sample of 42,000 households comprising nearly 76,000 persons on the frequency, characteristics and consequences of criminal victimization in the United States."
You may compare some of the results of this survey and the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports at this site.
You may compare some of the results of this survey and the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports at this site.
1 September 2005. The Bureau of Justice Statistics provides statistics on state and federal crimes. Crime trends lets you look at segments of information from the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports. You may review state and national level crime trend estimates from 1960 to present, local level crime trends, or large local agency crime trends. 24 August 2004. LexisNexis offers this resource containing news summaries and select publication updates pertaining to criminal law issues. News topics cover crime policy, drug policy, the death penalty, cybercrime and business-related crime. Publication updates include Criminal Defense Techniques, Defense of Drunk Driving, Defense of Speeding, Reckless Driving & Vehicular Homicide, Forensic Sciences, and other texts. Use of the site is free and all information appears in full-text. Part of its legal encyclopedia, Cornell Legal Information Institute provides an overview of criminal law. The overview links to select federal and state laws, court decisions and other materials. 16 May 2000. Revised 2 April 2004. The Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section of the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice offers this site on computer and intellectual property crimes. Find general information, such as how to report an Internet-related crime as well as legal and policy information. The Web site offers press releases on cases involving computer and intellectual property crimes, guidance documents, relevant laws and other documents. 5 May 2005. Available in both English and Spanish, the Web site of the non-profit Death Penalty Information Center provides news, reports, fact sheets and other information about issues related to capital punishment. Topics covered include costs associated with the death penalty, clemency, the execution of juveniles, mental illness and mental retardation, victims, and more. In addition to commentary, you will also find statistics. 5 May 2005. The Michigan State University Communication Technology Laboratory and the Death Penalty Information Center sponsor this educational site on capital punishment. Designed for students and teachers, the site presents arguments for and against the death penalty. It also outlines the stages in a capital case, provides a history of the death penalty, examines methods of execution, presents state summaries and statistics, and offers interactive tools and additional resources. 14 August 2006. Erica J. Hashimoto, assistant professor at University of Georgia School of Law, presents the results of a comprehensive study of pro se felony defendants. The data refute both the assumption that most felony pro se defendants are ill-served by the decision to self-represent and the theory that most pro se defendants suffer from mental illness. Somewhat surprisingly, the evidence suggests that pro se felony defendants in state court do just as well as felony defendants represented by counsel. Moreover, the vast majority of pro se felony defendants - nearly 80% - displayed no signs of mental illness. The results of the study also provide an alternative explanation for the pro se phenomenon, suggesting that at least some defendants choose self-representation because of concerns about counsel. The article will appear in an upcoming issue of North Carolina Law Review. Technical note: Download the full-text in PDF. 14 August 2006. Nolo Press offers this article on self-representation (typically called pro se) in criminal trials. While it sticks to conventional wisdom for the most part -- "it's not usually a good idea for criminal defendant to represent himself" -- it lists a few situations in which self-representation might make sense. It also provides brief guidance on discovering common sentencing practices and self-representation at the arraignment (where you enter a plea). 22 April 2008. Released during April 2008 by the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS), this report comprises the second edition. It "is intended to assist State and local law enforcement and other first responders who may be responsible for preserving an electronic crime scene and for recognizing, collecting, and safeguarding digital evidence." Chapters cover types of electronic devices, investigative tools and equipment, securing and evaluating the crime scene, documenting the scene, collecting evidence, packaging, transporting and storing digital evidence, and consideration of the evidence by crime category. The guide also includes a glossary. 10 August 2005. The Financial Crimes Section of the FBI reports on crimes against the national and international financial communities. After a brief introduction, sections of the report cover corporate fraud, health care fraud, mortgage fraud, identity theft, insurance fraud, telemarketing fraud and money laundering. The report provides statistics and summaries of key cases. 12 October 2004. Written by a student seeking GIAC (Global Information Assurance Certification) certification, this white paper outlines federal laws that apply to computer-related crimes. It covers the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, the Cyber Security Enhancement Act, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and some older laws, which can also apply. Written for IT professionals rather than attorneys, the paper serves as an easy-to-read introduction to the issue. 24 April 2003. Co-author of the book, Federal Grand Jury Practice, maintains this Web site about federal and state grand juries. Discover the basics, such as the required size of a grand jury, the quorum needed to conduct business, the evidence gathering process and more. Read about grand juries in the news. Also find an extensive list of links to related Web sites. 30 January 2002. FindLaw's latest creation serves as a good starting point for industry-related and business law research. The site comprises four major sections -- Industry Centers, News, Research Tools, and Law Firm Center. Industry Centers leads to news, commentary, laws, contracts, and other resources pertaining to specific industries or areas of business law. Areas of law covered include antitrust, intellectual property, international, labor, litigation, mergers & acquisitions, securities, tax, and white collar crime.
Take time to browse your topic of interest. While the search engine performed well for the test queries I ran, the site contains a lot of useful information you don't want to miss. Peruse the Food & Beverages industry page, for example, to find several employment-related contracts for Coca-Cola. The same page also lists Westlaw databases likely to provide relevant information for this industry.
Research Tools brings together information appearing elsewhere at FindLaw. For the most part, these represent resources useful to legal professionals. The guide, however, is not infallible. A Pennsylvania law page links to several sources with questionable authority. Moreover, all the automated queries for finding federal legislation proposed by Representatives and Senators from Pennsylvania, yield hits from the 106th Congress -- not the current Congress. An online supplement to the two-volume Search and Seizure by Lexis Law Publishing, the site provides case updates and commentary on the law of search and seizure, arrest and detention. Covering the Fourth Amendment and state law, chapters discuss probable cause, consent searches, seizure of vehicles, searches of professional offices, border searches, airport searches and more. 23 February 2006. A joint effort of Florida State University, College of Criminology & Criminal Justice and St. Thomas University, School of Law (Miami), this Web site tracks news and other events pertaining to federal and state government efforts to control fraud. Find summaries about recently filed lawsuits, warnings and alerts from government agencies, summaries of legislation and other documents. You may search by keyword for information that has scrolled off the main page. The search engine also provides a dated cache copy of each result. An RSS feed will keep you up to date with fraud-related news. 31 January 2006. The American Bar Association offers this question-and-answer factsheet on grand juries. It explains the purpose of the grand jury system and provides other basic information. 28 March 2006. This three-part article appearing in Forensic Science Communications examines how forensic scientists use hair to "associate a suspect to a victim or a suspect/victim to a crime scene." It provides an overview of hair evidence, hair microscopy, hair anatomy and growth, animal hair and human hair. It also explains the significance of hair evidence. 28 March 2006. Part 2 of this article examines fiber evidence. 28 March 2006. Part 3 of this article discusses crime and evidence. 10 November 2005. Federal district court for the Eastern District of Missouri makes available a PDF copy of the Handbook for Federal Grand Jurors. "It explains some of the terms that grand jurors will encounter during their service." It provides a brief history of the federal grand jury. It also outlines the purpose and selection of a grand jury. 10 November 2005. Federal district court for the Eastern District of Missouri makes available a PDF copy of the Handbook for Trial Jurors Serving in the United States District Courts. "It explains some of the language and procedures used in court," including the difference between an indictment and an information. It also outlines the stages of a trial. 24 January 2005. The Handbook provides procedures for safe and efficient methods of collecting, preserving, packaging and shipping evidence. It also describes forensic examinations performed by the FBI's Laboratory Division and Investigative Technology Division. Sections include submitting evidence, evidence examinations, crime-scene search and crime-scene safety. Throughout the Handbook, you will also find FBI contact numbers and mailing addresses. 18 December 2001. Revised 24 March 2003. The National Center for Education Statistics offers this report on crime at school. It provides the perspectives of students, teachers, principals, and the general population from an array of sources--the National Crime Victimization Survey (1992-99), the School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey (1989, 1995 and 1999), the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (1993, 1995, 1997 and 1999), and the School and Staffing Survey (1993-94). Because this appears to be an annual report, you should search the site for more current data. 12 November 2003. The Justice Research and Statistics Association, a national non-profit organization of state Statistical Analysis Center directors, researchers and practitioners, offers this free database of information on the activities and publications of the state Statistical Analysis Centers (SACs). Search by indexing terms (called keywords) or keyword in the publication title or description to find bibliographic citations, abstracts and contact information. Topics covered in the database include statistics on crimes against the elderly, substance abuse, domestic violence, homicide, misdemeanors, organized crime, school violence and more. 16 February 2005. Information management company askSam offers a free downloadable database containing the text of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. You need askSam database software or the free askSam Viewer to browse or search the database. It's compatible with Windows versions 95 and higher, including Windows NT. 27 June 2002. The Global Policy Forum, a public policy organization that monitors global policy making at the United Nations, provides commentary about issues pertaining to international justice. These include activities surrounding the International Criminal Court (comes into existence July 2002), The International Court of Justice, war crime tribunals, and the Alien Tort Claims Act. 12 May 2008. Comprised of 186 member countries, INTERPOL "facilitates cross-border police co-operation, and supports and assists all organizations, authorities and services whose mission is to prevent or combat international crime." The Web site provides news about international crime incidents, Red Notices or notices about fugitives "wanted by national jurisdictions (or the International Criminal Tribunals, where appropriate)," fact sheets, guides, annual reports and other publications, select databases and other electronic products (Red Notices, Stolen Works of Art) -- not all of which is available to the general public, and more. 12 November 2003. The Justice Research and Statistics Association is a national non-profit organization of state Statistical Analysis Center (SAC) directors, researchers and practitioners. It provides information about the SACs, a database of statistical publications on crimes and criminal justice issues, reports and other publications, and more. The Web site also links to several project Web sites maintained by the Association. 30 August 2005. This Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (part of the U.S. Department of Justice) bulletin summarizes and analyzes the national and state juvenile arrest data presented in the FBI report, "Crime in the United States 2003." The juvenile violent crime arrest rate, which grew substantially during the late 1980s, and then peaked in 1994, has decreased for 9 consecutive years. In 2003, it was nearly half what it was during the peak year, 1994. This document is a PDF file. 8 June 2000. Revised 24 March 2003. The National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD) acquires, processes and distributes criminal justice data. Search by keyword or pre-established subject terms to find descriptions of studies, reports and other data collections. Researchers may download the data subject to certain legal restrictions. 22 April 2008. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice and the President, the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) offers justice and substance abuse information to support research, policy, and program development worldwide. It offers reference and referral services on crime and justice-related questions, reports and other publications, a database (NCJRS Abstracts Database) with bibliographic information on criminal justice resources, and more. 29 May 2003. The U.S. Department of Justice and the Office of National Drug Control Policy offers this site, which provides news and information about criminal justice issues. Topics covered include corrections, the courts, drug crimes, juvenile justice, crime victims, statistics and more. Two databases enable searching for NCJRS publication abstracts or full-text. Publications are available free of charge. Select full-text print publications may be ordered. 22 April 2008. The National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) offers a database containing summaries of the more than 195,000 criminal justice, juvenile justice, and substance abuse resources housed in the NCJRS Library collection. Search by title, subject, author or other criteria to find bibliographic information and abstracts. You may download search results. A separate document explains how to obtain them. Many are available online in full text. 24 April 2003. Maintained by Markus Dubber of the Buffalo Criminal Law Center, Penal Law offers case law and commentary pertaining to substantive criminal law. Also find an extensive bibliography of law review articles. Parts of the site appear to be private; that is, some links require password access. However, much of the site is available to the general public. 31 January 2006. Self-help legal publisher, Nolo Press, offers a collection of articles dealing with evidence in criminal matters. Currently, the compilation covers lie detector tests, mental health, accomplices, fingerprints, DNA and common defenses. Written for consumers, the articles provide basic information and may not pertain to individual situations. 29 November 2001. The National Criminal Justice Reference Service offers commentary and resources pertaining to violence in schools. Find statistics, legislative summaries, publications, and a database containing bibliographic information and abstracts of literature on crime in schools as well as other criminal activities. 20 June 2002. The law firm Baker & McKenzie compiles legal resources pertaining to security law, including digital signatures, public key infrastructure, and cybercrime. These include commentary and primary sources of U.S. federal and state law and the laws of various foreign countries, as well as, uniform laws, conventions and treaties. 26 October 2004. The Web site of the U.K. Sentencing Guidelines Secretariat provides information about the development of sentencing guidelines for criminal offenses in the United Kingdom. It provides copies of the draft guidelines, a newsletter and information about the Sentencing Guidelines Council (SGC) and the Sentencing Advisory Panel (SAP). The section devoted to the SAP also offers research papers on surveys of public opinion on sensitive criminal justice issues, consultation papers, press releases and annual reports. The section devoted to the SGC provides meeting minutes, press releases and copies of the draft guidelines. 24 August 2004. Law professor Douglas A. Berman, co-author of Sentencing Law and Policy: Cases, Statutes, and Guidelines (Aspen Publishers), comments on sentencing developments for capital and non-capital offenses. Topics include the Blakely decision (federal sentencing guidelines), clemency and pardons, criminal sentencing alternatives, death penalty reforms, offender characteristics, procedure and proof at sentencing, and more. Sentencing Law and Policy is a well-organized and well-written Weblog. You can search past commentary, find related resources and received updates via an XML-based feed. Berman offers several feed formats. 29 April 2002. The Utilization of Criminal Justice Statistics Project and the University at Albany offer this online edition of the Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics. It covers the characteristics of the criminal justice systems, public attitudes toward crime, the nature and distribution of known offenses, the characteristics of persons arrested, judicial processing of defendants, and persons under correctional supervision. 16 February 2005. The National Center for Victims of Crime, an advocacy organization for victims of crime, offers a Web site for obtaining legal and other information about stalking. It reproduces state laws on stalking, the federal interstate stalking law, stalking provisions in tribal codes, and relevant penalty provisions in federal statutes. It provides a digest of federal and state cases on stalking, statistics from select resources, summarized news stories, and more. This service by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, which is affiliated with Syracuse University, gathers and disseminates statistical data about federal government agencies. TRACfed Criminal focuses on criminal enforcement data. Look for trends, number of convictions for particular crimes, length of prison terms, amount of fines and more. TRACfed requires a paid subscription. 22 December 1999. Researchers must register to use this site.
Part of Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, TracIRS offers civil and criminal audit and enforcement statistics.
2 November 2005. The FBI makes available statistics and reports from its Uniform Crime Reporting Program. The reports include Crime in the United States, which is compiled from data provided by nearly 17,000 law enforcement agencies. In addition to the annual statistical reports, you will find special studies and monographs as well as information about the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), UCR Frequently Asked Questions and UCR Incident Specific Questions. 12 May 2003. Part of the U.S. judicial branch of government, this independent agency prepares sentencing guidelines for the federal courts. Its Web site provides an overview of the guidelines, the full-text of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines Manual (including prior versions), amendments to the sentencing guidelines, reports to Congress on various crime-related issues, an email alert service, and more. 30 October 2003. Find an email subscription service for announcements from the U.S. Sentencing Commission. The mailings contain Federal Register notices, information about meetings and public hearings and other significant news about the Sentencing Guidelines and the Commission. The International Criminal Tribunal of Rwanda, in conjunction with the United Nations, offers this resource for judgments and decisions of the Tribunal. The site also offers select indictments, sentencing and verdict information, case summaries, Rules of Procedure and Evidence, the text of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, press releases, and radio news audio files. It appears the site may add hearing transcripts and arrest warrants in the future. 28 March 2006. Texas-based criminal defense lawyer, Walter M. Reaves, Jr., provides an overview of habeas corpus. He covers what it is, limitations on appeals, how to file an application for writ of habeas corpus, what issues you can raise, and more. Elsewhere on the law firm's Web site is an order form for a guide entitled, "Understanding Habeas Corpus." It is written for both pro-se litigants and lawyers, who do not often handle such cases. 24 January 2005. Peter J. Henning, Professor of Law at Wayne State University Law School, comments on white collar crime issues in the news and literature. He also provides a good collection of related Web-based resources. You will find links to criminal law reviews, federal laws, federal administrative materials, federal agencies, related Web sites and more. The site offers RSS and Atom news feeds. 10 August 2005. Cornell Legal Information Institute (LII) outlines white-collar crime legal issues and links to several primary sources of law. The encyclopedia-like essay also provides helpful definitions to terms such as trade secret theft, insider trading and mail fraud. |
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